1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a mounting arrangement for a mailbox door, and more specifically, this invention relates to a rivet type pivotal mounting for large mailbox doors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For many years, the doors of small mailboxes, of the type having an open end to be selectively closed by the door, have been mounted by means of loosely tightened rivets. In this type of arrangement, the rivets would be passed through a portion of the door, such as an extending flange thereof, and through the appropriate sidewalls of the mailbox. While this arrangement works sufficiently well for small mailboxes, it was found to be unsatisfactory for larger mailboxes, such as the large rural mailboxes, due to the greater size of the door which resulted in bending or distortion of the door. Such distortion, especially when coupled with the weight of the door, produced binding and generally unreliable operation, as well as breaking of the doors.
Accordingly, for the larger mailboxes a more conventional hinge, of the type known as a "piano" hinge, has been utilized. This type of hinge has two leaf members, each leaf having a plurality of annular cylindrical pivot sections adapted to interlace with the pivot sections of the other leaf. A pivot rod is then passed through the pivot sections to maintain the leafs together and to provide a pivot point during use of the hinge. Such hinges are relatively expensive, due to the manufacture of three relatively complicated parts and the consequent assembly time.
In connecting the piano hinges for use on the mailbox door, one leaf is connected to the door by five rivets, while the other leaf is connected to a portion of the mailbox, such as an extending flange at the bottom of the mailbox, by five rivets also. Thus, additional costs are involved in using the total of ten rivets, and in the labor that is required to fasten the rivets.
As a consequence, the presently utilized mounting arrangement for large mailbox doors is relatively expensive. In addition, the necessity of having the pre-manufactured piano hinges on hand creates purchasing and storage problems.